Hispanics Seeking Proof of Support From President

Washington--President Reagan's recent statement in support of
bilingual education has sparked a flurry of letter-writing by Hispanic
leaders who are asking the President to provide evidence of that
support.

The groups, who seek a meeting with the President, are demanding
that he withdraw a pending bill that would alter current federal
bilingual policy and that he restore funds for bilingual education,
which have been cut by nearly one-third since he took office.

Mr. Reagan, in a speech to a Hispanic veterans' group in El Paso,
Tex., on Aug. 13, said the Administration was "moving" to "end the
politicizing of education and bring excellence back to our schools and
better opportunities for our schoolchildren, including effective
bilingual programs so important for Hispanic children."

One week earlier, Vice President George Bush told another group:
"Let me make this crystal clear--we are for bilingual education."

See related stories on page 8.

Although the statements were characterized by White House officials
as consistent with current Administration policy, the Hispanic leaders
said they were contradicted by the Administration's actions during the
past two and a half years.

"Everything they've done before is against bilingual education,"
maintained James Lyons, general counsel to the National Association for
Bilingual Education, one of the groups that has written to
Administration officials.

Added John F. Jennings, counsel to the House Education and Labor
Committee, which has jurisdiction over bilingual education: "Either the
President is unaware of his own legislative program, or, for political
purposes, he's leaving a false impression about his legislative
program."

Native-Language Instruction

The Administration, in a move that was supported by some education
groups, early in 1981 withdrew regulations developed by the Carter
Administration that would have required native-language instruction for
limited-English-proficient students.

In a July 30 speech that year, Mr. Reagan told the National
Conference of State Legislatures that "while there's a need for
bilingual education, it's absolutely wrongheaded to encourage and
preserve native languages instead of teaching the language of our land.
..."

In addition, the Administration's initial budget proposal that year
would have eliminated federal bilingual-education funds as a separate
program, instead merging them into a block-grant package with other
programs for needy students.

Although that plan was later dropped, the Administration since then
has proposed budget cuts for the program each year. Its latest budget,
which is pending before the Congress, calls for $94 million in the
fiscal year 1984, less than half of the $191 million the program
received in the fiscal year 1980.

The 1984 plan also includes a legislative proposal that has become
the focus of the Hispanic groups' demands.

The bill, HR 2682, would change current federal bilingual policy in
three ways. It would limit grants to school districts to five years,
strengthening states' roles in monitoring districts' bilingual
instruction. It would allow school districts to use any method of
instruction they found to be effective, including now-prohibited
instruction solely in English. And it would target federal funds on
children who know little or no English, eliminating from the program
children who might already be bilingual.

The bill is supported by some education groups, particularly the
American Federation of Teachers and the National Association of State
Boards of Education. Hispanic groups, however, characterize the
proposal--along with the budget cuts--as a "watering down" of the
federal commitment to bilingual education.

"It is a negative bill; it would take the 'bilingual' out of
bilingual education," said Amalio Madueno, legislative consultant to
the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

'Extent' of Commitment

The defense fund and other groups contend that the Administration
must withdraw the bill in order to demonstrate the "extent" of the
President's commitment to bilingual education.

"We are concerned that he is solely seizing on the opportunity,
using a lot of political rhetoric," said Julio Barretto Jr., a
legislative assistant with the League of United Latin American
Citizens, a group with 100,000 members.

Other Hispanic spokesmen said they interpreted the statements of the
President and Vice President as vehicles for courting the Hispanic vote
in the 1984 Presidential election. Because overwhelming support exists
in the Hispanic community for bilingual education, according to one
Hispanic leader, the Administration may be willing to moderate its past
policies to gain Hispanic support.

Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, a
coalition of 120 local groups, was one of a group of Hispanic leaders
who met with Mr. Reagan before his El Paso address.

Mr. Reagan, he said, "indicated that his only concern with bilingual
education was with programs containing no instruction in English."

And in talking with Presidential aides, Mr. Yzaguirre said, "the
implication was that it was not simply a repackaging of the old
policies, but also a shift and stronger support for bilingual
education."

Mr. Yzaguirre, who is also co-chairman of the Hispanic Voter
Registration Drive, said he presented Presidential aides with the
results of attitude polls of Hispanic voters in San Antonio and Los
Angeles, in which bilingual education was supported by more than 88
percent of those queried.

"We're very sure that the one issue that really unites all Hispanics
is bilingual education," he said. "If [Republican leaders] are serious
about making some inroads in the Hispanic vote, they are going to have
to come up with something stronger in bilingual education."

Unavailable for Comment

Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell was unavailable for comment
last week. Telephone calls to the Administration's liaison with the
Hispanic community, Kathy Villalpando, were referred to the Education
Department's bilingual-education office.

Jesse Soriano, director of the office, maintained that the
President's recent statement "was very much in keeping with the
proposed legislation."

"To date I've heard nothing that would indicate moving away from the
legislation," he said.

Regarding support for bilingual education among Hispanics, Mr.
Soriano maintained that "most Hispanic parents would tell you that the
most important thing is for their children to become proficient in
English."

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